ABM Industries quarterly income falls; OKs 2M share buyback (6:53 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- ABM Industries Inc.
ABM, -0.48%
Wednesday evening said first-quarter net income was $3.99 million, or 8 cents a share, less than $5.48 million, or 11 cents a share, during the same period in the prior year. The facility services contractor said quarterly revenue was $666.6 million, up from $638.2 million. ABM added that it has filed its 2005 10-K after a delay. For the fiscal year, sales and other income totaled $2.59 billion, compared with $2.38 billion in 2004. Net income was $57.9 million, or $1.15 a share, up from $30.5 million, or 61 cents a share, in 2004. Also on Wednesday, ABM said it has approved a buyback program of up to 2 million shares through Oct. 31, 2006.

Ruby Tuesday quarterly profit up 10%; revenue rises (5:31 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Ruby Tuesday Inc.
RI, +6.31%
after the closing bell on Wednesday reported third-quarter net earnings of $30.2 million, or 50 cents a share, up 10% from $27.5 million, or 42 cents a share, during the year-ago period. Revenue at the Maryville, Tenn.-based restaurant chain rose to $338.6 million from $289.2 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had forecast third-quarter earnings of 46 cents a share on revenue of $334 million. During the third quarter, comparable sales at company-owned restaurants rose 4.7%, and were up 5.4% at its domestic franchise restaurants. For the fourth quarter, Ruby Tuesday said it now expects per-share earnings growth of 25% to 30%. The company had previously forecast growth of 20% to 22.5% for the period. For fiscal 2007, Ruby Tuesday said it sees per-share earnings growth within the lower end of its long-term goal of 12.5% to 15%.

Resources Connection quarterly profit rises (4:40 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Resources Connection Inc.
RECN, -0.06%
was up 2.3% in after-hours trading Wednesday. After the closing bell, the company reported fiscal third-quarter net earnings of $13.8 million, or 27 cents a share, up from $13.2 million, or 26 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue at the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based professional services firm rose 19% to $160.3 million from $135.2 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had forecast earnings of 28 cents a share on revenue of $159 million.

Arrow quarterly profit more than doubles; revenue up 7% (4:32 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Arrow International Inc.
ARRO
after the closing bell on Wednesday reported second-quarter net earnings of $12.6 million, or 28 cents a share, compared with $5.35 million, or 12 cents a share, during the year-ago period. Revenue at the Reading, Pa.-based medical device company rose 7% to $116.5 million from $109.2 million. Arrow said it reduced its second-quarter operating results by 3 cents a share to reflect changes in its accounting for U.S. shipping terms. For the third quarter, Arrow expects per-share earnings of 33 cents to 35 cents on targeted revenue of $122 million to $126 million. Additionally, the company sees fiscal 2006 earnings of $1.26 to $1.30 a share on targeted revenue of $476 million to $484 million.

Thomas Weisel quarterly income falls (3:52 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Thomas Weisel Partners Group Inc.
TWPG
on Wednesday said fourth-quarter net income was $7.1 million, down from $13.5 million in the prior year. Quarterly income attributable to shareholders was $2.99 million, down from $9.47 million. The investment bank, which completed its initial public offering on Feb. 7, said quarterly revenue was $73.7 million, compared with $73.1 million in the prior year. The company did not provide per-share figures.

Omni Energy Services swings to quarterly profit; rev flat (11:54 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Omni Energy Services Corp.
OMNI, +18.75%
on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $100,000, or a penny a share. During the same period a year ago, Omni posted a net loss of $9.99 million, or 88 cents a share. Net income from continuing operations was $800,000, or 4 cents a share, for the quarter. A year ago, the net loss from continuing operations was $3.6 million, or 31 cents a share. Revenue for the quarter was $11.1 million, unchanged from a year ago.

IHS shares rally; co. sees FY revenue growth of 8-10% (11:44 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of IHS Inc.
IHS, -48.95%
gained 15% to $27.95 on Wednesday after the Englewood, Colo., technical information provider reported first-quarter earnings of $13.5 million, or 24 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $13.1 million, or 23 cents a share. Revenue rose 11% in the latest three months to $129.9 million from $117 million in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for earnings of 24 cents a share in the February period. Looking ahead, the company lifted its outlook for the full year, forecasting organic revenue growth of 8% to 10%.

CORRECT: Sempra Energy sees FY07 earns 3.50-$3.70 a share (11:26 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Sempra Energy
SRE, +0.32%
Wednesday forecast earnings of $3.50 to $3.70 a share for fiscal 2007. The current average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call is for a profit of $3.67 a share in the period. The San Diego energy services company also set a target for earnings of $4.20 to $4.75 a share in fiscal 2010. The company made the comments ahead of a conference with financial analysts. Sempra also said it expects capital spending of about $2.3 billion for 2006, and an average annual capital spending of about $2 billion for 2007 through 2010. The stock closed Tuesday at $46.77, up 10 cents. (A previous version of this incorrectly stated the company lifted its financial outlook for fiscal 2007.)

Eastman Kodak to stop x-ray film coating ops at French site (10:32 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Eastman Kodak Co.
EK
said Wednesday it will stop x-ray film coating operations and the associated production of film base at its plant in Chalon-sur-Saone, France, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The closure will be completed in the coming months, and the operations will be transferred to other company plants with available capacity. Roughly 330 jobs will be affected, Eastman Kodak said. The company will take a related restructuring charge of $85 million, and will record an additional $1 million in operational charges.

Crown Media Holdings 4Q losses $59.8M vs $129M (9:01 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crown Media Holdings
CRWN, +0.20%
Wednesday posted a fourth-quarter loss of $59.8 million, or 57 cents a share, narrower than a year-ago loss of $129 million, or $1.23 a share. Revenue rose 39% in the latest three months to $60.5 million from $43.6 million in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of two analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a loss of 37 cents a share in the December period. Studio City, Calif.-based Crown Media, which operates the Hallmark Channel and other cable television channels, said the results for the latest quarter reflect a $2.6 million impairment of film assets. The stock closed Tuesday at $5.68, down 3.9%.

Guidant to suspend stent, to take charge (8:33 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Medical device maker Guidant Corp.
GDT
said Wednesday it would not release its current Xience V stent inventory because a small percentage of it was not manufactured to its quality standards. As a result, Guidant said it voluntarily stopped enrolling new patients in the 4.0 mm and the Japan arms of the non-randomized portion of its Spirit III clinical trial, which is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Xience V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease. Guidant said it would re-supply units to investigators as soon as new inventory is available. The company will not utilize existing inventories and will rebuild devices for SPIRIT III and the upcoming European launch. This will result in a first-quarter charge of about $15 million to write-off existing Xience V inventory and will delay the European launch of Xience V until the third quarter of 2006

CGI Group plans to cut 1,000 jobs in 2006 (8:29 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- CGI Group Inc.
GIB, -2.73%
said Wednesday it plans to eliminate roughly 1,000 jobs in 2006, primarily in Montreal and Toronto locations. The company attributed more than half of the layoffs to lower than expected work volumes with Bell Canada Enterprises, or BCE, and said the remainder of the cuts relate to adjustments of its cost base. It plans to make 500 of the layoffs immediately, and implement the rest by the end of the year. CGI believes acceleration and expansion of its Global Delivery Model will create about 400 jobs, partially offsetting the reductions. The Montreal-based provider of information technology and business process services expects BCE-related revenue for the second quarter will be significantly lower than previously anticipated on a sequential basis. The company noted its business with BCE is currently tracking slightly below the minimum guaranteed levels on an annualized run rate basis. CGI anticipates a pre-tax charge of C$90 million to be recorded over the next year related to severance and other initiatives.

Steelcase net income rises 11x (8:05 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Steelcase Inc.
SCS, -1.25%
on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $11.2 million, or 8 cents a share, up sharply from $1 million, or a penny a share in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 7% to $739.3 million. A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call forecast earnings of 11 cents a share and revenue of $735.6 million. The Grand Rapids, Mich. company said it expects first-quarter earnings of 10-to-15 cents a share, including restructuring charges of less than $5 million after-tax, compared to earnings of 5 cents a share in the year-ago period. Analysts are expecting earnings of 15 cents a share for the first quarter.

Steel Tech. provides earnings, revenue outlook (7:08 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Steel Technologies
STTX, +12.50%
said it expects fiscal second-quarter earnings of 21 cents a share and revenue of $250 million. In the fiscal first quarter, earnings were 25 cents a share on revenue of $212.6 million. Shipments for the quarter ending March are estimated to be 320,000 tons, which is in line with prior projections. The steel producer's stock closed Tuesday down 16 cents at $24.52.

Meade Instruments sees wider loss; confidentiality pact set (6:45 AM ET) WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Meade Instruments Corp.
MEAD
revised lower its loss forecast for fiscal 2006. The Irvine, Calif.-based designer and manufacturer of optical products including telescopes said it now estimates a net loss of up to $5 million, or 25 cents a share, for the year ended Feb. 28, wider than the loss of up to 5 cents a share previously projected. Meade also pegged full-year revenue at $120 million to $122 million, as opposed to about $120 million previously. The company's incurring "significant costs" related to outside management consultants as well as executive-search consultants helping Meade management seek out a new chief executive, said Harry Casari, chairman. He added that Meade's aiming to return to profitability in fiscal 2007. In addition, the company announced a confidentiality agreement with Hummingbird Management, Meade's largest shareholder. The pact grants Hummingbird certain observation rights concerning the business and operations of the company, with Hummingbird in turn agreeing not to seek a seat on the company's board of directors at the 2006 annual meeting. Shares of Meade Instruments lost 7 cents, or 2.4%, to end Tuesday's trading at $2.79.

HealthSouth reports 05 loss, ends accounting reconstruction (6:39 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- HealthSouth Corp.
HLSH
said in a 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its 2005 net loss was $446 million, including a previously disclosed $215 million non-cash charge relating to a preliminary litigation settlement. HealthSouth said the process of reconstructing its historical accounting records is now complete. The health-care clinic operator has been embroiled in a long-running scandal over inflated earnings figures, which saw former CEO Richard Scrushy cleared of charges including accounting fraud.

Bombardier quarterly profit up 54% as revenue slides (6:20 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Canadian aerospace and transportation conglomerate Bombardier Inc.(CA:BBDMVA)said fourth-quarter net profit rose 53.6% to $86 million, or 5 cents a share, while revenue slipped 14.6% to $4.04 billion. The company said it had focused on cutting costs, resulting in a $2.5 billion reduction in net debt. Bombardier added it has seen increasing demand for business jet and turboprop aircraft, while demand for its 50-seat regional jets has fallen. The company said it will continue to focus on cost savings during 2007 and will also increase its presence in fast-growing transportation segments, including services and signalling.

Spanish retailer Inditex annual profit climbs 26% (1:46 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Inditex SA(ES:014839601), the Spanish conglomerate that owns the Zara, Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti retailers, said annual profit rose 26% to 803 million euros, with sales up 21% to 6.74 billion euros and same-store sales up 5%. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were expecting a profit of 801 million euros on revenue of 6.94 billion euros. It will pay a 0.52 euros a share dividend alongside an extraordinary payment of 0.15 euros a share, Inditex added, and it plans to pay out 50% of its earnings in dividends starting in 2006. It expects to open between 410 and 490 stores in 2006. (Updates to include future dividend payment plan.)

Barratt six-month net profit nudges higher (1:39 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. homebuilder Barrat Developments Plc(UK:BDEV)said Wednesday that net profit in the second half of 2005 rose slightly to 114.8 million pounds ($200.7 million) from 114.4 million pounds. Revenue for the period rose 2% to 1.17 billion pounds and the company said it intends to increase its interim dividend by 15% to 10.34 pence a share. Barratt said its wide geographical spread, use of brownfield sites and growth of social housing all contributed to the performance. The company added it has a land bank of 63,365 plots, which equates to 4.3 years supply. Barratt said the market remains competitive, but there have been positive signs in the first weeks of 2006 that buyer confidence is improving. It added current conditions are sufficient to meet its targets.

Woolworths swings to profit while sales fall (1:24 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. retailer Woolworths Group Plc(UK:WLW)said Wednesday that it swung to a 2005 net profit of 10.2 million pounds ($17.8 million), or 0.7 pence a share. The company reported a loss of 8.1 million pounds in 2004. Total sales from continuing operations fell 4.1% to 2.63 billion pounds as same-store sales fell 3.9%. The company said it had managed to significantly reduce costs, but noted that sales fell due to the closure of some out-of-town stores and reduced floor space at other stores. Woolworths said it will raise its final dividend by 6.3% to 1.34 pence a share. The company also said it will continue to focus on cost controls because it expects competition to remain fierce over the next 12 months.

Ahold profit drops 86%, lowers retail targets (1:23 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Royal Ahold
AHO
(NL:33181), the Dutch and U.S. supermarkets operator and catering firm, said its fourth-quarter profit fell 86% to 108 million euros, or 0.07 euros a share, after a year-ago option gain and results from discontinued operations, with sales up 0.3% to 10.83 billion euros. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were looking for earnings of 0.07 euros on revenue of 10.9 billion euros. But it said the targets it set back in 2003 have become "increasingly challenging," and it now expects comparable sales in its retail arms to rise between 2.5% and 3% and that its operating margin willl be between 4% and 4.5%.

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